Tentative steps forward
This week saw more tentative steps forward in the peace process. The
Assembly vote to pave the way for the formation of the Executive and
the other institutions should be seen as a very positive move. It
clearly marked out the battle lines between the pro- and
anti-Agreement forces with a decisive three to one majority in
favour.
But the vote hides a continuing reluctance among Unionists to fully
implement the Agreement. Under David Trimble's leadership Unionists
continue to seek to re-negotiate what was agreed on Good Friday.
Instead of seeing the process as one of conflict resolution in which
the root causes of the conflict must be tackled, they insist on
working to a pre-Agreement agenda.
It is a simple truth that the reason the Agreement negotiations were
so long drawn-out and hard fought is that the conflict itself was so
intractable. By the same token, the result was not to anyone's
complete satisfaction. But it represented a genuine attempt at
conflict resolution which, to be successful, must be implemented. And
that means implementing it to the letter - not according to what one
side sees as the current ``political realities''.
The Unionists would do well by first acknowledging that there was a
conflict, rather than continue to believe their own propaganda that
they were the victims of a criminal conspiracy. By taking that step
their political perspective may then better encompass the need to
implement what was so painstakingly negotiated.
Implementing the Agreement at this stage means setting up the
political institutions. There can be no faith in a political process
which is unable to deliver even its basic building blocks. And those
who argue for prior decommissioning are ignoring not only the terms
of the Agreement, but also the lessons of successful conflict
resolution. The important point at this stage is to build confidence
by setting up the political structures.
Unionists have argued that they cannot trust Sinn Féin but it is
clear that no party has done more to build progress at all crucial
moments in the peace process than Sinn Féin. Hopefully, Wednesday's
meeting between delegations from Sinn Féin and the UUP will begin to
strip away any Unionist accusations that Sinn Féin is not genuinely
seeking peace and help move the process on to the next stage.
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